Police: Man accused of shooting up Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall was there to commit suicide

[Isabella]

HOLDERNESS — A man who allegedly used a shotgun to blast holes in the walls inside the local Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall and who then allegedly poured gasoline around the front entry door went there to commit suicide, according to a police affidavit.

David U. Petrell, 37, of 22 Circle Drive in Ashland was being held at gunpoint by multiple officers when he was tackled by Holderness Police Sgt. Michael Grier as Petrell was still standing over a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun he had dropped in compliance with orders.

Grier wrote in the affidavit that as he placed Petrell in the cruiser he could smell alcohol on his breath and that the defendant said, “I own it all, I did it, I’m f---.”

After Petrell was taken into custody, police searched the building to make sure no one else was inside. As there was a strong smell of gasoline, Grier shut off the furnace before exiting and called for the Holderness Fire Department to respond.

Petrell was arrested at the property at the corner of Route 3 and East Holderness Road shortly after Holderness, Meredith and Ashlanrd police were dispatched to the scene about 7:19 p.m. Friday after a concerned male friend of Petrell’s called authorities to report he was on his way to the Kingdom Hall to take his own life.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/police-man-accused-of-shooting-up-jehovah-s-witness-kingdom/article_9599604c-5685-5e22-9a29-cffac8dd2e02.html